I guess carrying on a bit with what the line of questioning Mr. Krutko was talking about. I recognize that the territorial government and the Dene governments are seeing this process as split between the Aboriginal governments, which includes the two Aboriginal governments that have signed on, and the GNWT I think as a 75-25 split. Then the position of the GNWT is that of the 75 percent based on population, about half of that money is being spent directly to, I guess, I don’t know how else to...spent on issues that are facing the Aboriginal people.
The problem there is that the GNWT has been delivering programs and services already. Right? As indicated earlier, if you look across the board and you look at the employment rate, as one example. We have this $1.3 billion budget in the GNWT. We’re spending it, supposedly half of it, on Aboriginal people, based on population. However, the employment rates in Aboriginal communities are much less than half of the employment rates in communities that are non-Aboriginal communities. Or maybe more like the larger centres. The money seems to be going into... The GNWT doesn’t seem to be able to trigger any sort of mechanism that will let employment grow in the small Aboriginal communities. So Aboriginal communities look at that as an example, one example only, and say, well, if we hand our entire resource revenues and any devolution over to the GNWT, wouldn’t that type of thing continue? Low employment rates. Poor health standards. Poor housing. Right? So the notion that the money that’s going to the GNWT is going to go to the Aboriginal community anyway, and it is going to the Aboriginal community, but the effectiveness of it is what the issue is. It doesn’t seem to be effective. I think that’s what the issue is.
From the Dene communities, at least the communities in Tu Nedhe, there seems to be an issue of how effective this government is at delivering programs and services. There will be more responsibility now given to this government to do that delivery. It’s true. The government could say, yes, it’s somebody in Ottawa that’s making the decision now and we’re going to bring that decision to Yellowknife. I think that’s the problem. That decision should go to Simpson, and Res, and Providence, and Aklavik, and McPherson, and Good Hope, and places like that. The problem is that decision is going to be brought to Yellowknife. The people in the Dene governments are saying, I don’t think that’s a really big huge improvement from what we’ve seen. Just speaking from historical data only, not trying to predict the future of what it’s going to be like, but just based on historical information that the GNWT doesn’t have a real good track record in those key areas of programs and services. I think that’s what the issue is. Bringing people on board is a good idea, but I think you have to show and I think this government has to show today that they’re going to seriously and actively work in these areas that need so much work. I think that’s what the issue is.
I’d like to ask the Minister what’s going to happen, what’s going to change when they take control. What’s going to change that’s going to make things better for the Aboriginal people? Thank you.